Heupel named coach at Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josh Heupel was hired as Tennessee’s football coach on Wednesday, giving the Vols a package deal with athletic director Danny White, who started in his job last week.
White announced that Heupel will become Tennessee’s 27th head coach. He’s now the Vols’ fifth coach, not counting interim or acting coaches, since the end of the 2008 season.
White said the school looked at a number of candidates before coming to Heupel, someone he has worked with the past three years at Central Florida. White said Heupel wins with integrity, has a history of winning titles and is an architect of explosive offenses.
“He is a players’ coach and the kind of person the student-athletes go the extra mile for,” White said in a statement. “I saw that first hand, and you can see it in his coaching record.”
Heupel was 28-8 in three seasons at UCF.
“I am thrilled to be coming to Tennessee,” Heupel said. “I understand that Volunteer fans are hungry for a return to the top that they so richly deserve, and it is my goal and commitment to bring a championship back to Rocky Top.”
In other college football news:
• Texas A&M opens its fourth season under coach Jimbo Fisher on Sept. 4 against Kent State at Kyle Field, and the Aggies will welcome reigning national champion Alabama to Kyle on Oct. 9.
The Aggies on Sept. 11 will play Colorado at Empower Field in Denver, home of the NFL’s Broncos, instead of in Boulder, Colo. Denver is 27
miles from Boulder. A&M should be favored in all five of its games leading to hosting the Crimson Tide. Mississippi State and coach Mike Leach will visit Kyle Field the week before (Oct. 2).
In addition on Wednesday, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told 92.1 FM radio in Tyler that defensive end Micheal Clemons and defensive back Keldrick Carper intend to return for another senior season.
• Rice, which was only able to play five games in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, has an ambitious football schedule for 2021.
The Owls open against Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on Sept. 4 and travel to Austin on Sept. 18 to play Texas. In between, Rice hosts Houston on Sept. 11.
After its first meeting with Texas Southern on Sept. 25, the Owls will being their 17th season of Conference-USA play at home against Southern Miss on Oct. 2.
• Veteran coach Jim Leavitt has been named defensive coordinator at SMU.
It is the fourth college for Leavitt as a defensive
coordinator since being linebackers coach for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14. That followed his 13 seasons as the first head coach at South Florida, which went to five consecutive bowl games his last five seasons.
Witten to retire with Cowboys
According to the Dallas Morning News, tight end Jason Witten plans to sign a one-day contract with the Cowboys to finish out his NFL career after his current deal with the Las Vegas Raiders expires.
Witten retired as a Cowboy after the 2017 season but returned to the game after a season in the booth for ESPN commentating on “Monday Night Football.” He played his 16th season in Dallas in 2019 before signing a one-year deal with Las Vegas in 2020.
“A coach once told me, ‘The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example,’ ” Witten told ESPN. “As I hang it up, I walk away knowing that for 17 seasons I gave it my absolute all.”
Witten made 11 Pro Bowls in his career and was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2012. He finishes his career with 1,228 catches (fourth-most in NFL history), 13,046 yards and 74 receiving touchdowns.